Unraveling the interplay among skin aging, epigenetic age, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors in Chinese women

Summary: Abstract Body: Skin aging results from biological processes and environmental factors. DNA methylation, a key epigenetic modification, is a robust aging biomarker quantifiable through methylation clocks. However, its relationship with skin aging remains unclear. To address this gap, we investigated associations between skin aging, epigenetic age, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors in a cohort of 84 Chinese females (mean age: 50.64 ± 14.91 years). Dermatologists assessed apparent age from facial photographs, and skin aging features were evaluated with a modified SCINEXA scale. Epigenetic age was determined from peripheral blood DNA using targeted bisulfite sequencing of CpG sites in the Horvath and Li clocks. Age acceleration (ΔAge) was defined as the deviation of epigenetic or apparent age from chronological age. Our results demonstrated that apparent age exhibited a strong correlation with chronological age (p<0.001), followed by Li epigenetic age (p<0.001) and Horvath epigenetic age (p<0.001). Importantly, the ΔAge of Horvath and Li epigenetic ages were significantly associated with the ΔAge of apparent age (p<0.05), with correlation coefficients of 0.251 and 0.261, respectively. Rhytides, laxity, and dyschromia scores were positively associated with both epigenetic ages (p<0.001). Notably, a higher education level was significantly associated with increased ΔAge of both epigenetic ages, whereas menopause and cooking intensity were associated with reduced ΔAge. In conclusion, this study links epigenetic age to skin aging and underscores the impact of sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. Future studies should validate these findings in diverse cohorts and explore personalized strategies for mitigating skin aging and advancing skin health. Mai Shi¹, Jinghui Li², Zhuying Zhang¹, Hsiaohan Tuan¹, Yi Zhao¹ 1. Department of Dermatology, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Beijing, Beijing, China. 2. Department of Dermatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Medical School Affiliated Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai, Shanghai, China. Genetic Disease, Gene Regulation, Gene Therapy & Epigenetics